Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami

Women perform rituals during a ceremony held for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, at Pattinapakkam beach in Chennai on Dec. 26, 2024.

Tearful mourners prayed on Thursday as ceremonies were held across Asia to remember the 220,000 people who were killed two decades ago when a tsunami hit coastlines around the Indian Ocean in one of the world's worst natural disasters.

Warning signs directing residents to evacuation areas in case of a tsunami have been installed by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality as concerns over a potential disaster of a large earthquake that is expected to hit Turkey continue to mount.

A report presented to parliament called for attention to the threat of tsunamis in the Marmara Sea in the event of a possible major earthquake expected in Turkey's northwestern region.

Drafted by a parliamentary subcommittee investigating earthquake risks, the report underlined that Turkey is susceptible to tsunamis due to the high seismic activity under the sea.

A powerful series of undersea quakes struck north-east of New Zealand on March 5, but tsunami waves that forced many people on the country's North Island to flee to high ground passed without causing substantial damage.

An earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale this morning in the area of ​​the Kermadake island group in the southern Pacific Ocean, Reuters and AP reported, referring to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

At least 281 people died and more than 1,000 were injured when the waves washed ashore along western Java and southern Sumatra islands Dec. 22 night following a volcanic eruption. Hundreds of homes and other buildings were "heavily damaged" when the tsunami struck, almost without warning. Click through for the photos that show the devastating impact of the tsunami.

The Turkish army has dispatched two aircraft to transport aid sent to disaster-hit Indonesia, the army said on Oct. 6.

Turkey is ready to provide assistance to Indonesia, where earthquake and tsunami caused loss of many lives, an official statement said on Sept. 29.

The head of the Athens Forensics Department says all autopsies on the dozens of people who died in Greece's deadliest wildfire in decades have been completed, although the identification process continues.

Germany's federal criminal police department says a team of its forensics specialists is in Greece to help officials there identify victims from this week's deadly forest fires.